KUALA LUMPUR – PKR’s Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has taken a swipe at outlandish claims made by PAS’ Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad linking DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng to former Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng and ex-Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Tze Tzin took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a picture of him with DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP and Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim, which was captioned as “according to Kepala Batas MP’s definition, Steven Sim and Sim Tze Tzin, cousins la kan?”
In response to that photo, PKR’s Maszlee Malik tweeted that he did not expect Malaysian politics to be this bad, and that PAS’s rhetoric is extreme.
The Bayan Baru MP’s tweet is in reference to a speech she made recently at a PAS programme in Kemaman, Terengganu, where Siti Mastura alleged that Guan Eng’s father, DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, is a relative of Chin Peng and Lee.
Mastura also claimed that several members of DAP’s top leadership were related to one another, claiming that Guan Eng’s wife is cousins with Teresa Kok (Seputeh-PH), while also name-dropping DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke (Seremban-PH), Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming (Teluk Intan-PH), and Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (Beruas-PH).
During yesterday’s press conference at the Parliament lobby, Guan Eng said Mastura has until Thursday to furnish evidence to prove her claims.
When Dewan Rakyat resumed its sitting yesterday afternoon, Mastura was repeatedly grilled by several DAP lawmakers throughout her debate on Supply Bill 2024 at the committee level, although she barely acknowledged the attempts calling for her to clarify her statements.
Instead, Mastura continued to read out her speech, merely holding up her hand to indicate that she was not taking questions and answering in the negative when Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul asked if she was going to allow questions from other MPs.
Some of the MPs who were seen demanding Mastura address their queries include Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera-PH), Wong Shu Qi (Kluang-PH) and Kok (Seputeh-PH) – all from DAP – the last of whom was among those name-dropped in Mastura’s allegations.
All three DAP lawmakers remained standing until the end of Mastura’s speech.
Previously, in 2017, Kit Siang had to deny being a cousin of Chin Peng and Lee, a claim spread by Umno members or supporters in a chart shared via WhatsApp.
Kit Siang had pointed out then that Chin Peng, who was born in Sitiawan, Perak, in 1924 as Ong Boon Hua, was part of the Hokchia clan.
Lee, on the other hand, was born in Singapore in 1923 as a part of the Hakka clan, while Kit Siang is a Hokkien born in Batu Pahat, Johor, in 1941. – November 8, 2023